Napoli tried to sign Neymar before securing Kevin De Bruyne deal: Report

The Brazilian decided to join Santos in the winter transfer window.

Before settling on Kevin De Bruyne earlier this year, Napoli reportedly made “serious” attempts to sign Brazil legend Neymar, according to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport

The report say that Napoli had sincere intentions to sign the Brazilian, who became a free agent.

At that point, Napoli started to look into a possible deal for the former Barcelona and PSG player. The 33-year-old’s contract was terminated by Al-Hilal, a Saudi Pro League team, at the end of January, and he eventually rejoined Santos, his boyhood club.

The Serie A champions were seriously considering signing the 33-year-old

In order to strengthen Antonio Conte’s team for 2025–2026, Napoli, who were halfway through their Scudetto-winning season in January, had been looking to add a big name to the squad.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, head coach Antonio Conte, sports director Giovanni Manna, and club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis had all supported the notion of signing Neymar.

That was, however, until the opportunity to sign Kevin De Bruyne arose. 

In the end, Napoli were able to agree terms with the Belgian star, who was made available on a free transfer after his 10-year spell in the Premier League with Manchester City. 

The 34-year-old has started in five out of six Serie A matches this season, providing three goals in the process, and has already laid on two assists from his two appearances in the UCL.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian star has endured an injury-ridden season since arriving at his boyhood club. The forward has barely played any games and is currently nursing an injury at the club and missing international games for Brazil also.

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